Sincere Pursuit of God: Recent Episodes
aaron spatz
This podcast is simply my thoughts on the spiritual journey of being a Christian as I look at various verses from the Bible in my own pursuit of God as well as any other thoughts I may have. I'm not perfect, I'm doing these episodes in one take most of the time, so I don't pretend to have all the answers, or to even be 100% correct at all times. I'm learning, I'm growing, but I'm moving forward (or at least that's the idea!). It's my heart, my desire, to share this journey with you to encourage you in your own spiritual journey. You can text "FAITH" to 682-255-1642 and I can add you to my text-based encouragement blast. My views and opinions expresses here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of any church I may serve or affiliate with.
I so love this topic, dealing with guilt, shame, and forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT, "10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death."
Psalm 51:17 NLT "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."
Romans 8:1-4 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Luke 6:38, "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."
Hebrews 10:24-25, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
James 1:2-3, "Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."
In this segment, I talk about God healing people, from the Bible but also into present time, both physically and emotionally.
Romans 5:6-11, "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God."
Matthew 11:28-30, "Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Perhaps contrary to your own notions or culturally-driven perception, God LOVES you. As a Christ-follower, there is nothing to fear!
1 John 4:15-21, "All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers."
Ephesians 3:12, "Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence."
Hebrews 4:16, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
Psalms 103:12, "He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west."
Romans 8:1, "He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west."
Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us."
2 Corinthians 5:19-21, "For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."
1 John 1:9, But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness."
There are tons of Scripture that deal with your identity as a believer in Christ, but two that I explore here are John 1:12-13, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God." and also Romans 8:15-17, "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering."
Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT, "Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!"
Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV, "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ."
Ephesians 2:14-16 NLT, "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death."
Colossians 3:16-17 NLT "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."
Romans 8:28 NLT, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them." Text "FAITH" to 682-255-1642 to join my faith-based text community.